Probe ordered into injection error

Trang province's Public Health Office has ordered an investigation into a nurse employed by a private hospital who allegedly injected a sick toddler with adrenaline, worsening his condition.

According to the office's chief physician, the office will be looking into how the four-year-old boy ended up receiving two milligrammes of intravenous adrenaline.

The boy's plight went viral on social media after a story written by his mother was shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

The post said that the boy was sent to the hospital on June 21 after complaining of a fever and cough. He was supposed to stay for a night, but then his condition immediately worsened after he was injected with adrenaline. The boy began vomiting blood and went into shock.

He was sent to Trang Hospital after spending about four hours in the private hospital's emergency room, where doctors attempted to revive him without success. He was then referred to the Southern Centre Hospital, where he stayed in an intensive care unit (ICU) for 12 days.

There, the boy was diagnosed with an adrenaline overdose and a respiratory infection.

Once the boy's condition stabilised, the private hospital admitted to his mother that an error occurred during the prescription process, as his doctor actually prescribed adrenaline spray instead of IV adrenaline.

According to the physician, doctors normally prescribe spray adrenaline for fully conscious patients. He noted IV adrenaline is usually only prescribed for patients who are unconscious.

While the boy's condition has significantly improved, his mother said he still suffers from partial weakness to one side of the body.

The family was promised at least 870,000 baht in compensation, but as of Monday, the family has not received anything.

The family is now demanding the maximum compensation allowed by law, as the boy will need at least two years to recover.

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Vocabulary

  • adrenaline: a substance produced in the body when you are excited, afraid or angry. It makes the heart beat faster and increases your energy and ability to move quickly - อะดรีนาลิน, ฮอร์โมนเนื้อในต่อมหมวกไต
  • compensation (noun): money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them - การจ่ายเงินชดเชย
  • conscious: aware - ที่ตระหนักได้
  • cough: to force air up through your throat with a sudden noise, especially when you have a cold - การไอ
  • inject: to put a drug or another substance into your body through the skin - ฉีดยา
  • intravenous (adj): (of drugs or food) going into a vein - ภายในเส้นเลือดดำ
  • overdose (noun): taking too much of a drug or medicine and getting sick or dying from it - การใช้ยาเกินขนาด
  • partial: in part, but not complete - บางส่วน
  • physician: a doctor, especially one who is a specialist in general medicine and not surgery - หมอ,แพทย์, นายแพทย์
  • plight: an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad or difficult one - สภาพเลวร้าย
  • prescription: an official piece of paper on which a doctor writes the type of medicine you should have, and which enables you to get it from a chemist's shop/drugstore - ใบสั่งยา
  • revive: to come or bring something back to life, health, existence, or use - ทำให้ฟื้นชีพ
  • shock (noun): a serious medical condition, usually the result of injury in which a person has lost a lot of blood and they are extremely weak - ช็อก, อาการสั่นกระตุก,อาการเป็นลม,อาการแน่นิ่งไปอย่างกระทันหัน
  • spray: very small drops of a liquid that are sent through the air; to cover somebody/something with very small drops of a liquid that are forced out of a container or sent through the air - ละอองน้ำ, น้ำที่กระเซ็นเป็นฝอย ฉีด; พ่น
  • stabilise: to reach a state where there are no longer any major changes or problems - กลายเป็นคงที่ (มั่นคง,สม่ำเสมอ,มีเสถียรภาพ) ตรึง
  • unconscious : in a sleeplike condition, usually from an illness or injury - หมดสติ
  • vomit: to empty the contents of the stomach through the mouth - อาเจียน
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